CatDoes vs Bolt.new: Which Ships Apps? (2026)

TL;DR: CatDoes and Bolt.new are both AI app builders you can drive in plain English, but they stop at different places. Bolt.new generates web apps (and React Native code through Expo) inside your browser and hands you the result, so you still run the native build and ship to the app stores yourself. CatDoes is a cloud agent that builds and ships the whole thing: native apps to the App Store and Google Play, websites with custom domains, and a backend included on every plan. Want to prototype a web app in a browser tab? Pick Bolt. Want a finished app in the stores without touching a build pipeline? Pick CatDoes.

You typed "AI app builder" into a search bar and both Bolt.new and CatDoes came up. Both let you describe an app and watch AI write it. Both start free. Both promise to take you from idea to launch. So which one actually puts a working app in front of real users?

Here is the catch: pick wrong and you either end up with a slick web prototype you can't get onto the App Store, or you pay for shipping features you don't need. The distance between "AI wrote my app's code" and "my app is live in the store" is larger than it looks, and it is exactly where these two tools split. This guide breaks down what each one builds, real 2026 pricing, the mobile-publishing question, and who should pick which.

Table of Contents

• What Is Bolt.new?

• What Is CatDoes?

• CatDoes vs Bolt.new: The Core Difference

• Feature Comparison

• Pricing: CatDoes vs Bolt.new in 2026

• Can You Ship a Mobile App?

• Which One Should You Choose?

• Frequently Asked Questions

• The Bottom Line

What Is Bolt.new?

Bolt.new is StackBlitz's AI app generator, launched in 2024 as a web-first tool. You describe an app in your browser, an agent writes the code, and a live preview renders in seconds. The clever part is that it all runs inside the browser: Bolt uses WebContainers, an in-browser implementation of Node.js, so there is nothing to install and no cold starts.

In February 2025, Bolt V2 added an Expo starter template and React Native code generation, so you can prompt mobile screens too, as the Expo integration announcement laid out. On the web side, Bolt is genuinely strong: it deploys web apps with hosting and custom domains, and it connects to database providers like Supabase. It is a fast way to turn a prompt into a working web app without leaving the browser.

What Is CatDoes?

CatDoes is an AI agent that builds mobile apps and websites from natural language. You describe what you want, and the agent runs in the cloud, spins up its own subagents, writes the code, and ships the result to the App Store, Google Play, or the web with a custom domain. There is no IDE to install and no code you are required to touch.

Every plan includes CatDoes Cloud, a built-in backend with database, authentication, storage, edge functions, and realtime. That matters, because a real app is more than a screen: it needs data, logins, and a server. Developers can still bring a GitHub repo, export code, and work with the underlying stack, but non-technical founders can go from idea to a live, downloadable app without ever opening an editor. If you want the wider landscape, our guide to the best AI app builder options puts CatDoes in context.

CatDoes vs Bolt.new: The Core Difference

Both tools are prompt-driven and require no coding, which is the surface similarity that makes people compare them. The real split is where they hand off. Bolt runs in your browser and gives you code plus a preview; you own the native build, the backend wiring, and the store submission. CatDoes runs in the cloud and treats the full lifecycle (code, backend, deployment, and store publishing) as the agent's job.

Put simply: Bolt is web-first and stops at the code. CatDoes is app-first and stops at the store listing. Both are powered by frontier models under the hood, so the difference isn't the AI writing the code. It's everything wrapped around it.

Feature Comparison

Here is how the two line up on the things that decide whether you actually end up with a shipped app.

The two overlap on web: both build web apps, both offer hosting and custom domains. The gap opens on mobile and on what comes after the code is written. That is where the comparison actually gets decided.

Pricing: CatDoes vs Bolt.new in 2026

Bolt.new uses a usage-based token model. Every plan comes with a monthly token allowance, and the code the agent reads, writes, and syncs all draws it down. Current plans, per the official pricing page:

The thing to watch with tokens is that usage scales with your project. Most tokens go to Bolt reading and syncing your files, not just your prompts, so costs on a larger app can climb faster than you expect. CatDoes uses a credit-based model instead: each plan includes a fixed monthly credit allocation, and every plan comes with CatDoes Cloud.

The entry prices sit close: both start free, and the first paid tier is $20 for CatDoes Core against $25 for Bolt Pro. But you are buying different jobs. With Bolt, that money buys code generation and web hosting inside the browser. With CatDoes, it buys an agent that writes the code, hosts the backend, and pushes the app to a store. Once you add the separate build tooling and store submission a Bolt mobile project still needs, the sticker prices aren't really comparing the same work.

Can You Ship a Mobile App?

This is where the two tools separate most clearly. With Bolt, you can generate a mobile app: pick the Expo template and the agent writes React Native screens, and you can scan a QR code with Expo Go to preview it on your phone. But Bolt runs in WebContainers, an in-browser sandbox that cannot run Xcode, Android Studio, or the Expo Application Services (EAS) build pipeline. So there is no signed binary and no one-click path to the App Store or Google Play.

To actually ship a Bolt mobile app, you export the project to GitHub, install the EAS CLI on your own machine, register an Apple Developer account ($99/yr) and a Google Play account ($25 once), generate certificates and provisioning profiles, then run and submit the builds yourself through Expo's EAS service. It works, but every step assumes you know the native build conventions, and it is exactly where most non-developers stall. Our walkthrough on how to submit an app to the App Store shows just how much that pipeline normally involves.

CatDoes treats publishing as part of the job. The agent runs the EAS build, signs both binaries against credentials it manages for you, fills in the App Store Connect and Google Play Console metadata, and submits the app, with no Mac, no certificates, and no CLI on your end. And if you have already built something in Bolt, you don't have to start over: our guide on Bolt.new for mobile apps walks through importing a Bolt project by URL or GitHub and shipping it as a native iOS and Android app.

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose Bolt.new if: you're building a web app or a quick prototype, you like iterating in a browser tab, and either you only need the web or you're comfortable running the native build pipeline yourself. It's a fast, capable in-browser builder with strong web output.

Choose CatDoes if: you want a finished app in the App Store and Google Play, plus a website and a backend, without touching Xcode, EAS, or certificates. Founders, solo builders, and non-developers who want a real product rather than a codebase are the core fit, and developers who just want the app shipped without babysitting the pipeline benefit too.

The two aren't really rivals so much as answers to different questions. "How do I prototype a web app fast?" points to Bolt. "How do I get my app built and launched in the stores?" points to CatDoes. You can even use both: prototype in Bolt, then import the project into CatDoes to ship it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Bolt.new publish an app to the App Store? Not directly. Bolt generates React Native code through Expo, but it runs in the browser (WebContainers), so it can't run EAS builds or sign binaries. You export the project and run EAS yourself, or use CatDoes to handle the build and store submission for you.

Is CatDoes no-code like Bolt.new? Yes. Both let you describe an app in plain English with no coding required. CatDoes adds native store publishing, a built-in backend, and GitHub import and code export for developers who want to go deeper.

Which is cheaper? Both start free. CatDoes Core is $20/mo and Bolt Pro is $25/mo, but they price different jobs. Bolt bills usage-based tokens for code generation and web hosting; CatDoes bills monthly credits for the full build-and-ship agent plus CatDoes Cloud.

Does Bolt.new include a backend? Bolt connects to third-party database providers like Supabase rather than hosting its own. CatDoes includes CatDoes Cloud, with database, auth, storage, edge functions, and realtime, on every plan.

Is CatDoes a good Bolt.new alternative? If you like Bolt for prototyping but hit a wall when it's time to publish a mobile app, yes. CatDoes covers the exact part Bolt leaves to you: native builds, code signing, and App Store and Google Play submission, with a backend included. A common pattern is to prototype in Bolt, then switch to CatDoes to ship.

Can I move my Bolt project to CatDoes? Yes. Import a Bolt project by deployed URL or GitHub repo, and CatDoes rebuilds it in production-grade React Native and ships it to the App Store and Google Play.

The Bottom Line

CatDoes vs Bolt.new comes down to one question: where do you want the tool to stop? Bolt.new is a fast in-browser AI builder that hands you web apps and React Native code and lets you take it from there. CatDoes is an AI agent that carries the app all the way to the App Store, Google Play, and the web, with backend, deployment, and store publishing included, without requiring you to code at all.

If your goal is a finished product in users' hands rather than a codebase to manage, try CatDoes free and describe your first app. The agent takes it from there.